A serenade is a popular song whose main theme is love and which is usually performed by a group of musicians using wind and string instruments.
It is an eminently popular music, sung outdoors and in a festive and joyful spirit. The serenade has been described as the art of falling in love through music. In this sense, the image of a group of young people singing in front of a young woman's balcony is typical.
Although the main theme is love, there are other contents that are part of this musical expression, such as the parody of characters or political satire
The serenade is a musical modality that we can find in Mexican mariachi groups, the Spanish tuna of university students or in the form of public competitions organized in the middle of the street, as happened in Argentina.
A vision of its historical origin
Research on serenades highlights that these songs acquire prominence from the Romantic period in Spain, the period in which poets such as Bécquer, Zorrilla or Espronceda incorporated serenades into their literary work. It can be said that the serenade is a synthesis of two tendencies of Romanticism: music as a means of expression and the feeling of love. In this sense, the serenade is interpreted in street and festive contexts but its lyrics do not belong to the popular tradition, since most of them were written by illustrious poets.
Serenades in today's world
A serenade is more than a simple love theme song, as it expresses a way of life and values. Thus, when a group of young people went at night to sing serenades they were performing a kind of ritual: looking for a girlfriend through musical seduction and having fun with friends.
This custom connects with a world that, to a large extent, no longer exists. It is very difficult to imagine that a young woman is waiting on her balcony for the arrival of some young people who are going to sing a serenade to win her over and entertain her. The custom of singing serenades has lost its original meaning and today it continues more as entertainment than as a form of conquest.
The tradition of serenades is slowly disappearing. This can be observed in two different phenomena: the role of the mariachis is oriented towards tourism and the Spanish university tunas are no longer part of the university tradition.
Photos: iStock - fcscafeine / Susan Chiang
